With a 25-6, 25-6, 25-14 win at Lawrence Academy on Monday, the St. John volleyball team claimed the Lake Effect Conference championship.
It’s the Heralds’ first league title since they won the East Suburban Conference in 2007.
“It means a lot,” coach Stephanie Kubec said. “I know it isn’t a tough league — there’s one good competitive team — but it really does mean a lot. The girls want to win (the league) and go undefeated.”
St. John is now 13-2 overall and 10-0 in the league with a post season league tournament left to play. The tournament and regular season can produce separate champions. The Heralds are seeded first with league runner-up Hearts for Jesus seeded second.
The spiking of Mackenzie Stenroos and Alivia Cimorelli have paced the Heralds this season.
“We’re consistently working in the gym on spiking,” Kubec said. “Mackenzie has a lot of aces and we’ve started pushing (the ball) to outside and Alivia has been coming on, as well.”
Don’t think for a minute the remainder of the Heralds haven’t had a role in the team’s success, however.
“We do strive for each girl to play a huge role,” Kubec said. “It’s important for each girl to fill her role and if she doesn’t, that somebody else step up and fill it.”
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
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